Politics

• Wednesday, January 17th 2018 - 10:14 UTC

  Conservatives urge “unity of purpose” ahead of EU Withdrawal Bill third reading

  

  The Conservatives have urged MPs to show a “unity of purpose” and back their Brexit legislation in a key vote. The EU (Withdrawal) Bill gets its third reading in the House of Commons later before heading to the Lords.

• Wednesday, January 17th 2018 - 10:12 UTC

  Wales will take steps to protect its interests, unless changes are made to EU Withdrawal bill

  

  First Minister Carwyn Jones has said he will take steps to protect Welsh powers after Brexit if UK ministers do not change their EU withdrawal bill. He claimed the way Theresa May planned to bring powers back from Brussels was a “fundamental assault” on devolution.

• Wednesday, January 17th 2018 - 09:25 UTC

  Europe tells UK that “our hearts are still open”, and hopes London will listen

  

  Europe’s top two bureaucrats believe the UK could still yet change its mind on Brexit. Donald Tusk, the European Council president, said “our hearts are still open” to “our British friends” to remain in the bloc. And quoting the UK Brexit secretary, he added: “Wasn’t it David Davis himself who said ‘if a democracy cannot change its mind, it ceases to be a democracy’? We here on the continent haven’t had a change of heart – our hearts are still open to you.”

• Wednesday, January 17th 2018 - 09:12 UTC

  European Parliament bans electric pulse fishing; rejection from Dutch fishermen

  

  The European Parliament called on Tuesday for a ban on electric pulse fishing in the European Union, defying Brussels which wants the experimental practice in the North Sea done on a larger scale. The parliament, the EU's only directly elected body, will now try to strike a compromise with the European Commission, the bloc's executive, and the European Council, which groups the 28 member states.

• Wednesday, January 17th 2018 - 09:05 UTC

  Trump in excellent health and with normal score on a cognitive exam

  

  President Donald Trump requested that his first formal medical exam include a cognitive test and “did exceedingly well,” receiving a score of 30 out of 30, the top White House doctor announced on Tuesday afternoon.

• Wednesday, January 17th 2018 - 08:37 UTC

  Uruguayan farmers surprise government and take to the roads to protest fiscal policies

  

  Uruguayan farmers with their tractors, harvesters, trucks, vans and on horseback took to the roads to protest the cost of fuel, power, increased taxes and an over bloated national budget and bureaucracy which they blame for making several farm activities unprofitable, and have had an overall negative impact for the different camp activities.

• Wednesday, January 17th 2018 - 07:13 UTC

  Francis expresses pain and shame for sex abuse by Chile's Catholic clergy

  

  On his first full day in Chile on Tuesday Pope Francis immediately confronted the issue of sex abuse by the country's Catholic clergy, apologized and said he felt ashamed -- just hours after several Chilean churches were reportedly firebombed.

• Tuesday, January 16th 2018 - 10:09 UTC

  Vatican protocol message to President Macri when Pope overflew Argentina

  

  While overflying Argentine territory on Monday, in his trip to Chile for a three-day visit, Pope Francis sent his “warm greetings” to President Mauricio Macri and called on his fellow Argentines not to forget to pray for him, in his twenty second apostolic trip, which also includes Peru.

• Tuesday, January 16th 2018 - 10:04 UTC

  Scotland reveals impact on its economy of UK leaving the European Union

  

  Scotland's economy would be £12.7bn a year worse off under a so-called hard Brexit, according to analysis by the Scottish government. The figure is contained in a paper on the impact of UK withdrawal from the European Union. It calculates the cost to Scotland of the UK leaving the single market with or without a trade deal.

• Tuesday, January 16th 2018 - 09:52 UTC

  Support for Lula's presidential bid despite his corruption conviction

  

  Four South American ex-presidents are among more than 170,000 people who signed a petition supporting former president Lula da Silva bid for another term as Brazil's president, despite his corruption conviction. US film-maker Oliver Stone also signed the online petition supporting Lula, whose electoral aspirations are at risk of being blocked.